Santana: the Werewolf Hunter
by purrpickle
Summary: When Buffy Summers arrives in Lima, Ohio, Santana Lopez discovers she's not the only chosen one. And when the werewolves rise, she'll grudgingly accept the help. But when one of Santana's classmates gets bitten, can they save her humanity? Pezberry.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I don't own Glee nor Buffy: the Vampire Slayer, as well as any of the characters associated with the shows. So, this is a fic for a friend of mine. He gave me the prompt, then set me free. You can blame him. *grins* Also, I'm assuming that the people reading this already know the characters of both shows, so I didn't bother with 'initial description scenes'. Those get _quite _boring after a while.

**Timeline:** Season two of Glee and season two of Buffy.

**Glee pairings:** All current established pairings of the second season except Quinn and Sam are still together and there are no beards, which means Santana, Rachel, and Finn (and Karofsky) are single. This will be eventual Pezberry.

**Buffy pairings:** All established second season Buffy couples.

And now, on with the show~

* * *

><p>"Sam's cheating on me."<p>

"Way to say hello, Q. What has Trouty Mouth done now?" Santana raised an eyebrow at the blonde who had just sat down across from her.

The skin between Quinn eyebrows wrinkled, and she pressed her hands onto the table, leaning forward, "He's cheating on me. I know it. I've seen it."

Santana rolled her eyes. Sitting back, she crossed her arms. "He doesn't have the balls to cheat on you. Hell, if he wouldn't jump all up on this," she waved her hand up and down to encompass herself, "He ain't gonna be lookin' elsewhere."

Quinn glared at her. "Have I told you how _furious_ I am at you for attempting to seduce _my _boyfriend?"

"Only, like, a million times. Let it _go_. Do you see _me_ raggin' on _you_ for gettin' knocked up by _my _boyfriend?"

The blonde's eyes narrowed.

Santana glared back.

Then, almost as one, they both relaxed.

"Bitch," Quinn smirked.

"Whore," Santana retorted.

"Poppy seed," Brittany plopped down into the chair next to Santana. "Today's a poppy seed muffin day," she clarified, setting a box of said muffins onto the table. "Rachel left them after the meeting today. So I took them."

Pausing reaching for a muffin, Santana's eyebrows rose. "There was a meeting? Glee?"

Quinn looked at her in surprise. "I was wondering why you weren't there. We just figured you were skipping. You didn't know?"

"_No_, I didn't know." Santana frowned, taking the muffin closest to her and starting to pull the cup off, "What was it for?"

"What else do you think?" Quinn rolled her eyes, "Nationals. Song selection. Solos. _Her _solos."

"Muffins," Brittany offered helpfully, peeling the cup off her own muffin. "She also talked about how and why she picked which muffins she did." Taking a big bite and swallowing, she smiled broadly, "I forgot why, but it was nice of her to bring them."

Santana nodded distractedly. "How did you guys hear about the meeting?"

Quinn shrugged. "Rachel came up to me in the hall. You?" She looked at Brittany, who thought for a second before nodding, "Same."

"Great." Muttering, Santana broke her muffin in half before taking a bite, "Gonna have to talk to the midget. Santana Lopez does _not _get excluded."

"Well, obviously you _do_," Quinn smirked at her, then sat back in her chair and sighed, "But back to _me_." She ground her teeth, looking down at the ring on her finger. "I cannot _believe _this!" she burst out, making Brittany and Santana look at each other before back to her, "Why do all of my boyfriends _cheat _on me?"

Brittany coughed. "Technically…" she started, shrugging her shoulders, "You cheated on Finn first…"

"That's beside the point!" Glaring at the other blonde, Quinn held her hand with the ring up, "_This _time, I have a ring. Sam gave me a ring. Boys who give their girlfriends rings do _not _cheat on them."

Santana snorted. "Are you _delusional_?" she asked her friend, tilting her head, "Rings are, like, the _reason _guys cheat."

Brittany nodded sagely.

Staring at her two friends, Quinn let out a noise of annoyance. "You guys are _no _help, you know that?"

"Look." Leaning forward and setting her muffin down, Santana narrowed her eyes, "Frankly, unless you start giving me specifics, I'm two seconds away from leaving you and Britts to your own devices. You're boring the shit out of me, Fabray, and I still have enough time to go find Puck for a quickie if I wanted to."

Giving Santana a disgusted expression, Quinn pulled her phone out. Clicking a couple times, she brought up a somewhat blurry picture of Sam holding arms with a short blonde female at the mall.

Santana raised her eyebrows. "Wow. Sammy must have grown some."

"Hmm? Grown what?" Already onto her second muffin, Brittany took the phone from Quinn. "Oh! She looks hot. Why's she so blurry, though…?"

"Give me that!" Snatching her phone back, Quinn frowned. "You _see_? B thinks she's hot! Sam's cheating on me for _sure_."

"Q, B thinks _most_ people are hot."

Brittany nodded. "Except Pygmies. They freak me out. If we were to have sex, how could I do it without squishing them?"

That made Quinn crack a smile. "Thank you, B. But… What do I do?"

"Why don't you just ask him?" Brittany asked curiously.

"Uh, _no_, she can't do that." Shaking her head, Santana crossed her arms, "The douche'd just lie. No." She arched an eyebrow at Quinn, "You know what you have to do."

Quinn nodded glumly.

"What? What is it?" Looking back and forth between her friends, Brittany picked up her third muffin.

Santana took it from her, "No, that's enough, B, or do you want to gain weight and become ugly?" sliding the whole box away from her as well. Placing it safely on the other side of her, she turned back to her. "It's simple. Q," she glanced over at her, "What is it you have to do?"

Sighing, Quinn studied her ring again before curling her hand into a fist. She swallowed, blinking. "I have to gather evidence, and then I have to catch him in the act." Taking a deep breath, she firmed her shoulders and looked up. "And you two are going to help me."

* * *

><p>"Okay, you got it?" Quinn repeated for the fiftieth time as she and Brittany stood next to her locker, "S and I'll distract him while you go through his wallet. Pictures, condoms… If you find anything like that, take it before you slip it back into his pocket."<p>

"Can I take his money, too?"

Quinn sighed, shaking her head. "_No_, B. Leave that money for him to use on our date on Friday. Just pictures or condoms or… I don't know! Something else that proves he's an adulterous pig."

"Okay…" Brittany closed her locker door as she shouldered her backpack, "But what if he uses that money for the _other _girl? Wouldn't you want it then?"

Taking in a deep breath, Quinn audibly counted to ten. "Well, B, we won't _know_ if he will or not _until_ you search his wallet. So just search his wallet, okay?"

Pouting, Brittany nodded. "But I _like _collecting green paper…"

Opening her mouth, Quinn paused, then shook her head. "Where's S?" she asked, looking around, "I don't see her."

Brittany frowned, turning her head side to side to search as well. "Me neither…" she chewed on her lower lip, eyebrows furrowing. "Oh!" She brightened, pointing, "There she is! At the water fountain. …Hey." Cocking her head, the blonde asked, "Isn't that Sam and the girl he's cheating on you with coming up behind her?"

"_What_?" Whipping her head around, Quinn scowled, drawing herself up straight. "He… He's _flaunting _it in school, too? The _nerve _of him."

Brittany studied Sam as he came closer, smiling widely as he caught sight of his girlfriend. "He doesn't look nervous…" she trailed off, switching her gaze to the short blonde at his side. "That's weird…" Reaching out a hand, Brittany tugged on Quinn's sleeve. "Q… Why is S and the girl staring at each other? It looks weird…"

Santana was standing a step away from the drinking fountain, her eyes locked on the blonde girl, a deeply puzzled look on her face. The girl had the same expression, her steps slowing as she passed Santana. Both girls tensed, but a random student cut past Sam and in between the two girls, severing their stare. Blinking, the blonde shook her head and sped up to catch up to Sam, Santana crossing her arms and frowning intensely before turning and walking away in the opposite direction. Brittany took a step forward to go to her, but Quinn grabbed her arm, squeezing tightly.

"Stay with me," she hissed, putting a very big, very fake smile on her face as Sam and the girl finally reached them.

"Hey," Sam slid his arm around his girlfriend's waist, hugging her to him as he dropped a kiss onto her cheek, "Sorry I couldn't hang out with you yesterday, but I had to pick up Buffy from the airport, then show her around town. I figured that might be a bit boring for you."

"Buffy?" Quinn possessively wrapped her arm around Sam, prominently displaying the ring he had given her. Her eyes didn't leave Buffy, who stood there somewhat awkwardly.

"Yeah." Sam smiled. "This is Buffy Summers, my cousin. She's going to be staying with my family for a while. Buffy, this is my girlfriend."

Reacting to her name, Buffy smiled warmly, reaching forward to offer Quinn her hand, "Hey. Quinn, right? Sammy talks about you _all _the time."

Quinn slowly took it, still looking a little suspicious. "Funny. He never mentioned you."

Buffy shrugged, pulling her hand back and tucking some of her hair behind her ear, keeping her smile, "Well, don't blame him _too _much. We hadn't _seen_ each other for a couple of years, you know, and it was a sudden thing, me coming to stay here." Then, turning to Brittany, she offered her her hand as well, "Hi!"

Brittany blinked, then straightened. "Hi," she smiled, accepting the shake, "I'm Brittany. What kind of name is Buffy?"

Buffy made a face. "You'd have to ask my mother that."

"Why can't I ask you?"

Sam cleared his throat, distracting Brittany, and turned his attention to Quinn. "Anyway. I'm sorry, still. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

Quinn flicked her gaze from Sam to Buffy and back. She relaxed. "It's okay. I forgive you. We're still on for Friday, right?"

Sam beamed. "Of _course_! What kind of boyfriend would I be if I wasn't ready to treat you to dinner? I'm all set and _everything_." Suddenly, a concerned look crossed his face, and he dropped his arm from Quinn to start patting his back pockets. "Hey! Crap. I think I lost my wallet."

* * *

><p>"…Yeah, it was really strange. Not like a vampire or demon or anything, but definitely hinky. Yeah. She certainly <em>acted<em> like I set off her Spidey Sense, too. I'm pretty sure she's human, though, as I didn't really get a _slay _impulse. Mmhm. I think she's one of Sam's – oh, that's my cousin – 's friends, so I'll have more info soon, hopefully. No, no, you don't have to do that. No, I got it under control for now. I'll let you know if I need you. Uh, that sounded weird. Yeah – _yes_. If I need you to come here, that sounds better. _Eww_. Oh, sorry, Giles, but thinking – okay, okay, eww. _Not _thinking that _or _speaking of it ever again. Yeah, sounds good. Night. Ahuh. I will. Night. _Night_, Giles!"

Hanging up the phone, Buffy shook her head. "Jeez, _so _wrong. Yuck." Sliding into the bed and switching off the light, she sighed. Punching the pillow to get it to feel right, she rolled over restlessly a couple of times. Finally finding a position that seemed to be comfortable, she started slowing her breathing.

She was just starting to drift off when the recognizable sound of a wolf howling split the night air, loud even through the closed window. Her eyes snapped open.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Short chapter, didn't put everything into it I wanted to put in, but at least it's a start. My car accident, uhm... Kinda did a doozy on me, so I haven't been writing as much. But that'll pass, hopefully soon, and longer chapters (for this and my other fics) will commence.

Fun fact: when my friend was pitching this story to me, he started with something like, "Buffy needs to team up with Santana to prevent a vampire from messing with Lima." Well, when I asked him how Santana could help, he replied with, "Because Santana's a cheerleader." Made me laugh.

Oh, and I'm not really sticking with Buffy werewolves. I know they couldn't do too much, realistically, but I always found what they came up with incredibly weak. Anything else? Oh. This takes place before Buffy's seventeenth birthday, so Angel's still Angel. Think that's everything.

* * *

><p>Deflecting the clumsy punch aimed at her head with her forearm, Buffy grunted at the force behind the throw, barely pausing to kick her foot up to shatter the vampire's knee. As the already dead man fell to the ground with a pained scream, she neatly whipped Mr. Pointy out of her jacket to plunge it through his hunched back and into his heart. A burst of dust exploded in the air.<p>

Brushing some off of her sleeve, Buffy grinned. "Well, that wasn't too hard. Maybe being away from the Hellmouth really _does _make a differ-_ahh_!" Long arms wrapped around her shoulders as a hard body slammed into her back. Crashing to the ground on her face and chest, the air was driven from her lungs.

As an arm tightened around her neck, she struggled to get her hands under her. Fingers digging into the grass, she wheezed, tensed, then pushed with enough strength to flip the two of them backwards, slamming the vampire onto his back. The grip around her neck loosened, and she gasped, quickly rolling off. Spying Mr. Pointy to the right, she dove for it, rolled, and jumped to her feet.

Five seconds later, the second vampire was dusted.

Buffy rubbed at her neck. "Great. Go out hunting for wolves and find the _other _white meat. What's next? Praying mantis women? Wasn't Ohio supposed to be _boring_?" Moving her hand up to run through her hair, her head snapped around as a loud, close howl sounded from across the park. A determined expression sliding onto her face, the blonde took off in the direction it had come from.

As she got closer, the howling had turned into snarls and barks, accompanied by an angry female human voice. "Tomás, you stupid mutt! Trust you, huh? Trust you like _shit_. Since I know you won't remember this in the morning, prepare to get smacked _down_." There was a heavy thump and sharp yip, followed by a grunt.

Skirting around a tree, Buffy skidded to a stop. In the moonlight that filtered through the clearing's treetops, the girl she had called Giles about was crouched on the back of a large werewolf, arms wrapped around its neck as her knees dug into its sides. The werewolf was scrabbling at the ground, tongue lolling and wheezing roughly. Even pinned as it was, it looked terribly dangerous.

Eyes wide, Buffy gasped. "Don't _kill _it!" she yelled, "That's still _human_!"

The girl's eyes snapped up, and the werewolf, taking the split second opening Buffy's yell had caused, reared up onto its hind legs. The girl's arms tightening even more to hang on, the werewolf teetered, keened, then crumpled backwards. "_Fuuuuuck_!" was all the girl had time to spit out before the huge werewolf crushed her into the ground.

Blinking, Buffy ran over to push the now unconscious shapeshifter off of the girl. She wrinkled her nose, "God, do these guys not care about personal hygiene at _all_?" then quickly stepped back once the girl wasn't stuck under it anymore.

"I highly doubt they share grooming tips," the girl rasped as she sat up, rubbing her upper chest. "Dammit," she blinked, glaring furiously at Buffy, "What the hell was that? Because of you, Tomás could have gotten away!"

Buffy's eyes narrowed, but before she could respond, the girl had already made her way to her feet, only to drop down and check for a pulse on the werewolf. Buffy stared at her incredulously, "What are you doing?"

The girl shot her an annoyed glance, "What does it look like, blondie? Checking for a dog collar? Jesus." She shook her head. "When he's not going all Cujo, Tomás is a pretty cool guy. I don't want him to _die_ just because he slipped his leash." The girl let out a frustrated sigh, then flicked the werewolf's nose, "Dammit, wish you could tell me where your sister was. Fricken' joyriders."

Buffy worked her jaw for a few seconds, then shook her head. Putting her hands onto her hips, she hedged her voice, "Look, don't take this the wrong way, but you obviously know about the oogely-boogely, and this certainly doesn't seem like your first werewolf…"

The girl snorted as she retrieved a lumpy canvas bag that had been apparently flung aside when she first engaged the werewolf. Digging around in it, she took out a length of heavy-duty rope.

"But." Firming her shoulders, Buffy tensed her body and crossed her arms, "What's going on here? Do I have to get ready to fight you over this… Thermos wolfie-guy? Because if you're going to do any experiments or tests on him, I can't stand by and allow it."

The girl paused. "_Alright_," she dipped her head, dropping the rope next to the werewolf and turning around to cross her arms as she sneered deeply, "Who the hell are you?"

* * *

><p>Across town, the moon was already high in the sky when the main doors of William McKinley High School pushed open. Stepping outside, Rachel winced at the crashing of the doors closing behind her, turning to stare at them a little. Shrugging, she sighed and looked over the darkened parking lot, biting her lower lip. After a few seconds survey, she started walking towards the sidewalk, tugging her backpack behind her.<p>

Taking up a brisk pace, the wheels of her bag were loud in the empty silence. Stuffing her other hand into the pocket of her lime green pea coat, the brunette kept her head forward, hunkering down a bit after a chilly gust of wind blew her free flowing hair back from her face.

Turning the corner into a residential area, Rachel paused at the sound of low growling. Scanning the various yards near and before her, she started forward slowly again, her grip on her backpack handle tightening.

Louder growling rumbled up from her right and slightly behind her, the noise delineated into heavy breathing and thick snarls. As she snapped her head back, a monstrous black shape with glowing yellow eyes appeared from nowhere. It stared right at her, stray moonlight glinting on big, sharp teeth.

Dropping her backpack with a loud clatter, Rachel ran.

An exultant howl dogged her heels as the shape gave chase.


	3. Chapter 3

The breath whooshed in and out of Rachel's mouth and lungs in great, gasping pants, tears lining her dilated eyes. The slapping of her shoes was drowned out by the hungry snuffles and snarls of the beast gaining on her, large, clawed paws scraping and skidding across the sidewalk.

The farther she ran, the closer the pursuer became.

Streaking past the park, she almost stumbled when a van pulled up at the stop sign at the end of the street, cutting her off. Barely managing to swing her body out of the way, her leg clipping against the front bumper, she had just made it to the other side of the street when a violent, screaming impact of something slamming into metal and glass made her look back.

The van she had just skirted had been shoved into the opposite lane, a dark, dark shape slinking around. Shaking off glass and growling angrily, feral yellow eyes snapped to her again. With tensing haunches and another cutoff scream from Rachel, the chase was on again.

* * *

><p>"Vampire Slayer." The girl sounded positively unimpressed.<p>

"Otherwise known as the Chosen One," Buffy nodded, looking just as unimpressed.

"Wow." The girl dropped her head, quickly and expertly looping her rope around Tomás' wrists, connecting them but leaving a lead. As she concentrated on her knots, a derisive smirk crossed her face, "Chosen One. Egotistical, much?" When Buffy narrowed her eyes, insulted, the girl looked up again, "And you're human."

Sighing, Buffy rolled her eyes. "No, can't you tell by looking at me that I'm a two-hundred pound Lorax demon? Yes. I'm human. And if I'm not mistaken, so are you." She walked around to get another view of what the girl was doing. "Now that _that's _out of the way, who are you? You're really not giving me a lot to work with, here."

The girl didn't pause what she was doing, testing the tension of the rope. "You really can't expect me to believe that your _name _is Vampire Slayer."

Buffy made an exasperated face. "Good _god_, can you imagine the _teasing_? No. Buffy Summers. Sam's cousin," she added almost as an afterthought.

The girl finally looked up, dark eyes studying her. "Sam's cousin," she repeated, thin eyebrows raising high on her forehead. Her lips twisted sardonically, "Yes. That explains _everything_."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but at least you have my _name_. If you want me to not refer to you as the… Werewolf Wrangler, now would probably be a good time to introduce yourself."

"Werewolf Wrangler." The girl's lips twitched.

Buffy just gave her a smug smile.

"Yeah, no, funny," the girl mocked, rising. She glared at Buffy. "Santana Lopez. Werewolf… Hunter." A smirk crossed her face.

"Oh? Were those capital letters I heard in there?" Buffy perked up, "And you call _me _egotistical?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "I'm a bitch. It's a given I'm egotistical." Looking back down at the still unconscious werewolf, she started walking around him, brushing by Buffy close enough that she had to take a step back. "I _also _don't have enough time to continue this _fascinating _conversation. I need to find Tomás' sister."

As if on cue, a loud, triumphant howl rolled through their bodies.

"That was close," Buffy hissed just as Santana snapped her head in the direction the bay had come from, "_Shit_! I _know _that howl."

As a dramatic accent to her words, a terrified high pitched scream slashed through the air. Another howl, another scream, and then one that cut off, leaving ringing silence.

"_Shit_," Santana repeated. Scooping up her bag, she took off running, Buffy falling into step next to her.

* * *

><p>Putrid hot breath buffeted the back of Rachel's head, boiling saliva scalding the back of her neck. Her arm in an unnatural position and her nose and chin smashed into the sidewalk because of a crushing weight on her shoulder, the girl was struggling to breathe. More crushing weight was on her other arm, strong, unmovable pillars on either sides of her thighs, boxing her in.<p>

Another chilling howl slammed into her ears, a large nose coming down to snuffle at her neck again, drool and the exploring points of razor-sharp teeth sliding along her skin. The animal shifted on her back, a loud snapping noise barely drawing a pained whimper. Sobbing helplessly, choking from a steady lack of air, Rachel's movements got slower and slower.

And then the weight on top of her was gone, something slamming into her right side as her attacker was ripped away, a violent crashing happening somewhere to her left. High pitched snarls and husky yells filled the air, clammy hands suddenly pushing soaked hair back from her neck. Wiping the saliva away, Rachel heard a muttered, "Drew no blood, thank god. Hopefully…" One hand moving to her pulse point, the unfamiliar female voice became more direct, "Hey, are you conscious? I can't move you, but I need to know if you're awake."

Rachel moaned wetly.

"Okay, okay, good. Now, do you know who you are?"

"Ray… Rayhhhchell."

A sharp yip, and the commotion to her left stopped.

"Rachel, okay, good. Nice to meet you Rachel, I'm Buffy. Erm, the ambulance should be here shortly. That give you enough time?"

A familiar female voice cleared her throat, "Yeah, it should. She…?"

The hand on Rachel's neck tensed a little, before relaxing, the other hand gently rubbing up and down Rachel's arm. "I think so. Didn't draw blood. Do you know…?"

Footsteps walked closer, a body kneeling down next to Rachel's left side. "No. _Fuck_. I'm almost afraid to have her at the hospital, but she needs it. I'll have to check on her tomorrow afternoon."

Rachel tried to move. "San…?"

"_Shh_." Another, warmer hand prevented her from rolling over, "You _can't_ move yet, hobbit."

"Hobbit?" Buffy asked.

"Forget it." Standing up, Santana walked back over to the left, "Dammit, Celia. You have a _lot _to answer to in the morning." A couple of grunts, Buffy's offered, "You need any help?", Santana's snapped, "Fuck no," and then Rachel and Buffy were alone.

Buffy sighed. "Hey, Rachel," she softly stroked Rachel's hair, pulling it from under her, "Do you know what happened?"

. "…'s tah-tackled," Rachel managed. She was breathing better, but she was shivering, her body twitching from the need to move. "Chase…d. 'en tahkld."

"Do you know… What?"

Rachel's sobs started up again. "An-anml."

"Yes, good, shh, shh. It was an animal. Nasty escaped wolf or coyote or something, right? But please, don't cry, 'cuz, you know, breathing's good, huh? C'mon, Rachel, I can hear the ambulance now. It'll be alright soon."

"Prom…ise…?"

Buffy squeezed her arm. "I promise," she whispered, followed by the sound of sirens approaching, "Hey, you need me to go to the hospital with you?"

Rachel choked, hiccupping. "I'm soh…rry, sorry."

"No, no, no, shh. It's okay, Rachel. Nothing to be sorry about."

The sirens got louder and louder, finally cutting off with the sound of a car parking itself, and then the clatter of feet running up to her and Buffy. The whirl of many voices and over and up and down and car ride and emergency room and x-rays and treatment and finally, finally, Rachel falling asleep, Buffy slipping out to leave it to her fathers to watch her intently.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Alright, so some of the problem with me taking a long time to update this fic is that, for some reason, I had decided to write this story in a different writing style than I normally do, and it was annoying me. So, while I'm keeping some of the same style, I decided to go heck with the limitations! and just write it in a way that was easier and more natural for me.

* * *

><p>It was early in the morning when Santana entered Rachel Berry's hospital room. When black and purple puffy eyes opened into slits and looked at her, she walked over to the bed. "Berry," she greeted neutrally, eyes moving to take in what she could see of Rachel's face and body.<p>

Swollen lips slowly moved above and below white bandages, Rachel's chin and nose having suffered from being pushed into concrete, a rough voice full of air whispering, "San. Tana."

Santana tilted her head. "I'd ask you how you were feeling, but you're either in a lot of pain or high on drugs, so I'd get complaining or a love letter to Big Bird."

A low noise left Rachel's throat, and she breathed out loudly before offering, "Both."

"Hmm. That sucks." Pausing, Santana frowned down at her. "What do you remember?"

Rachel swallowed. "Sit?"

Santana raised an eyebrow. "You remember _sitting_?"

"No…" Licking her lips, Rachel barely dropped her chin, wincing as she did so. "You… Sit? Hurts looking… Up."

"Oh." Looking troubled, Santana studied Rachel's face, finally sighing and looking around the room. Spying the nearest chair, she walked over and pulled it closer to the bed. "I swear, if this smells like a sleeping person, I'm _out _of here," she muttered, turning back and settling into the seat.

Now only a little higher than Rachel's line of sight, Rachel sighed and dropped her eyelids. "Thanks…" she breathed, "Now I won't… Feel so bad, mmm, closing my eyes."

Santana shook her head, a hint of a smirk on her face. "Right. What do you remember?"

Rachel's eyebrows furrowed. The bandages on her chin trembled. "…Do I have to answer?" When Santana didn't respond, her body tightened, and her eyes cracked open. "What… What was that?"

"What was what?"

"The… Attacked me." Rachel's tongue darted out to lick her lips. "What?"

Santana frowned. "I don't know. It was already gone when I got there."

"N-_no_. _You_." Making a face and groaning as she started trying to sit up, Santana standing to push her back down with a snapped, "No, stay _down_," Rachel's accusing stare was dark compared to her white skin, "You and… Buffy… You."

"Me what? You're going to have to be more specific than that."

Obviously frustrated with Santana's limiting of her mobility, Rachel shifted her non-splinted arm, fingers brushing against Santana's hand before falling back down to the bed. "You saved me."

Santana's frown deepened. "Well _obviously_ you've been smoking too much crack," she sat back, crossing her arms.

Closing her eyes, Rachel's lips firmed. "You saved me," she repeated, "I know… You did." Her hand rose again, and Santana sighed, giving the other girl her own to hold onto, "Thank you."

Santana opened her mouth to respond, but with a slacking of her fingers, Santana gently leading it back down to Rachel's side, Rachel was asleep again. Studying her, Santana's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you going to be a problem?" she asked, standing up, sighing again and drawing the hospital sheet up to Rachel's chin. Not bothering to wait for an answer of any kind, she slipped back out of the room.

* * *

><p>It was a couple of hours later when Rachel got another visitor other than her fathers. Her eyes fluttering open at a light touch at her wrist, Rachel squinted up at the young woman standing over her. "Who…?" she croaked.<p>

"Shh." The black haired woman shook her head, pressing a finger softly against Rachel's lips, pulling away and going back to her splinted wrist. "So fragile…" she whispered, lifting her hand, looking it over.

Rachel's eyes widened, her irises becoming smaller as fear started to show plain on her face. "Who?" she asked again, giving a weak tug.

The woman only tightened her grip, making Rachel wince and whimper. "Stop that," she admonished warningly, gold eyes narrowing. A finger dropping to trace along Rachel's arm, the woman leaned in. "You know…" she hummed, "Just a second longer and you wouldn't be hurt at _all_."

Rachel shifted her head back, her body trying to inch away as much as it could, slow and halting. Pain staining her face, she managed, "Please… Go away."

"You're not even curious as to what I mean?" the woman raised an eyebrow, cocking her head, "That…" She smirked widely, showing oddly sharp teeth, "Right now you could be as healthy as you've _ever _been? _Better_, even?

"I know what I'm talking about, you see," the woman said in a calm tone of voice, settling down onto the bed near Rachel's side. Letting Rachel's hand go, she smiled down at her, an odd expression crossing her face when she started stroking Rachel's hair away from her eyes and bandages. "You're really going to make a good addition. It's a pity Celia didn't finish the marking."

Breathing shallowly, Rachel flinched with each stroke of the woman's fingers. "What are you…?"

"_But_," the woman continued as if she hadn't spoken, "That's why I'm here." Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep breath through her nose. "Mmm… What am I talking about? What am I doing here? Or _even_…" She let the breath out, lips drawing up again as she bent down, coming face to face with Rachel, eyes burning directly into Rachel's, "_What_ _am I_?"

More pain glowed in Rachel's eyes as the strength of her shaking increased, skin losing color even more than had already gone. Her throat working, mouth opening to say something else, it was never said. Instead, the woman suddenly jerked her splinted hand up, making Rachel scream. "Let me show you," the woman rumbled deeply, eyes wild and eager as her head snapped down, those too sharp teeth burying into the first free patch of skin under the cast, biting harshly and purposefully.

Rachel screamed and screamed again, her body thrashing, struggling to pull herself away, voice finally cutting off in a hoarse whine as exhaustion and pain sapped consciousness from her.

Pulling back, the woman smirked in intense satisfaction. "Good," she purred, licking up the few drops of blood slowly oozing from the bite already beginning to heal into a jagged white imprint of her teeth, "It will be a joy watching your first phasing." Standing, she dropped Rachel's wrist, and, in a macabre shadow of what Santana had done earlier, arranged Rachel's limp body into a more natural pose and walked calmly out without a single glance back as two seconds later a nurse hurried past her.

* * *

><p>"Why are we visiting Rachel?" Brittany asked, tapping the toes of one foot on the asphalt in front of Santana's car, her hands buried in her jacket, "I thought we didn't like her."<p>

"Hell if I should know," Quinn shrugged boredly, tapping away at her phone, "But as long as I get free lunch out of it, then I'm okay with it."

Craning her head over, obviously trying to get a look at the phone screen, Brittany made a face when Quinn snapped it to her chest. Straightening, she scratched her nose, then covered a yawn. "Is Sam coming?"

Her glare fading, Quinn stuffed her phone into her pocket. "I don't think so. There's an extra football practice today."

"Oh. But his cousin's coming?"

"Yeah, I really wouldn't know that either," Quinn responded scornfully, about to say more until she looked where Brittany was pointing at the Santana with the blonde in tow coming their way. Her eyebrows rose. "Huh. Okay. Buffy's coming with us _why_?"

Santana didn't answer, walking past her to unlock the driver's side door before unlocking the rest.

"Because I'm the one who found her," Buffy answered in explanation, smiling mildly, "Call me obligated."

Hopping into the backseat, Brittany asked, "Wasn't your name Buffy?"

Buffy stared at her, finally finishing buckling herself into the passenger seat. "Most days," she smiled.

Seemingly mollified, Brittany nodded and pulled the seatbelt over herself. "Which one do I put it in again?" she furrowed her brow, and Quinn rolled her eyes, grabbing the correct buckle and pushing it at Brittany. Brittany brightened. "Thanks, Q!"

"Sure." Patting Brittany's thigh, Quinn turned back to the front of the car. "So," she met Santana's eyes in the rearview mirror, "Where are we going to eat lunch?"

Santana shrugged. "Depends," she answered cryptically, pulling her sunglasses from the overhead storage and slipping them on, "Now shuts up as I wants to listen to the radio." And, almost smashing the On button after turning the key in the ignition, contemporary top one hundred pop music filling the car through the speakers, Brittany and Buffy immediately starting to dance in their seats, Santana peeled out of the parking spot and the parking lot.


End file.
